Author Archives: geeta.kumar

1. What three things that you learned this semester about doing research have been the most useful to you (or are likely to be the most useful to you)? Please explain why for each of those things.
2. What is one thing that you wish we had spent more time covering in class or that we failed to get to in class? Why do you wish we had gotten to that?

1) One of the three things that I found most useful to me was the “and vs or” tip. It really helped me find more specific searches instead of just typing every little bit of information I could find into the search bar. It is something that I’ve begun to use everyday when using Google and I can actually see the difference in my search results. Another thing that I found useful were the library databases. At the beginning of the semester, I did not expect to use the databases this much but was surprised at how much information it provided. Without this class, I probably would not have known what they were or how to use them. I can see myself coming back to them for future research references. The last thing that I found extremely useful in this class was the importance of going back to our work and revising it constantly. Usually I just hand in work as soon as I’m done and put minimal effort in looking it over but because of the constant revision we had to do with our research question, it allowed me to appreciate the importance of proofreading. Many of these things have benefited me in this class and can be used outside of this class as well.

2) I wish we spent more time discussing the company itself. I know that this was a research class and we were learning how to use Google efficiently for research but I did enjoy the videos from the Google representatives when they explained how things worked. Google is such a big company and there is a lot to learn about it. It was really interesting learning how the workers came up with the aspects of the search engine and how they are still working to make it better. Maybe there should be a class dedicated to the history of search engines!

1. “Google Introduces New Tool For Scholarly Research”. Associated Press Newswires (2004) Factiva. Web. 9 Nov. 2011

2. Butler, Delcan. “Science Searches Shift Up A Gear As Google Starts Scholar Engine”. 432.7016 (2004): 423-423. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 9 Nov. 2011

3. Wenzler, John. “Keeping the Enemy Close: Integrating Google Scholar into the Online Academic Library.” Against the Grain 20.3 (2008): 38, 40, 42. Library Lit & Inf Full Text. Web. 9 Nov. 2011.

4. Miller, William, and Rita M. Pellen. “Libraries and Google” Haworth Information Press (2005) WorldCat. Web. 9 Nov. 2011

1) Global Economic Monitor (GEM) Database

• Subject Specialties; Daily & monthly financial information such as interest rates, equity markets, consumer production and global economic development in high income countries as well as countries that face poverty.
• Format of Information; Numerical spreadsheets, PDF files, news articles & website links.
• Controlled Vocabulary; Statistics, Cross-Cultural Studies
• Unique Feature; The goal of the database was to help expand people’s knowledge about countries in poverty that need help. The search bar was very simple and did not have a common format like the advanced search option in other databases.

2) MEDLINE (EBSCOhost) Database

• Subject Specialties; Information medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system.
• Format of Information; Academic Journals
• Controlled Vocabulary; Health Aspects, Case Studies, Cross-Cultural Studies
• Unique Feature; I noticed while scrolling through the list of databases that MEDLINE has two websites. One is on EBSCOhost and the other is on PubMed. The difference between the two is that PubMed does not provide the student with links to the full-text databases. In the description box, there is a suggestion to use EBSCOhost in order to access these links.

I was able to find my textbooks for class (English and Pre-cal) that were located in Baruch and also in other CUNY’s. I was not able to find a magazine article. I typed in “vouge magazine” as an example and the system seemed confused or unsure.

Key Information About A Book:

Title: Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince

Author: Rowling, J.K

Call Number: PR6068 .O93 H65 2005

Location: Baruch Library, Stacks: 3rd, 4th, 5th floors

Status: Regular Loan

Due Date: Look on shelf